INVITED SPEAKERS
Prof. Gordon H. Copp
Salmon & Freshwater Team, Cefas, Pakefield Road, Lowestoft, Suffolk, NR33 0HT, U.K. and Centre for Conservation Ecology and Environmental Science, Bournemouth University, Poole, Dorset, U.K., and Environmental and Life Sciences Graduate Program, Trent University, Peterborough, Canada
Following a BSc in Biology/Environmental Studies in his native Canada, Gordon undertook post-graduate training in environmental science & technology in Delft (Netherlands), worked for the Canadian National Research Council in environmental sciences and then completed his doctoral studies in the environmental biology of floodplain fishes at the “Université de Lyon” (France). Post-doctoral research in England with the Freshwater Biological Association, on 0+ fish recruitment in the River Great Ouse, was followed by 10 years as a lecturer/reader in ichthyology at the University of Hertfordshire (England). During this period, Gordon’s research expanded to include otter-fish interactions and initial studies of non-native fishes. He was awarded a “Habilitation à Diriger la Recherché” in ichthyology by the “Université de Toulouse” (France) in 1996, followed by his appointment to Reader in Ichthyology. Following an 18-month research sabbatical in France, Gordon joined Cefas (England), and he is currently a Principal Scientist in Fish Biology, with visiting professorships at Bournemouth University (England) and Trent University (Canada). Since joining Cefas in 2002, Gordon’s research has focused on the environmental biology and impacts of non-native freshwater fishes and on the development and application of risk analysis protocols for the assessment of non-native species under both national (UK) and international (EU) legislation. For over ten years, Gordon coordinated a NATO-funded collaborative linkage network on the use of life-history traits to predict the invasiveness of freshwater fishes. This research has expanded in recent years to include the use of environmental DNA (eDNA) for the detection of non-native freshwater fishes. As part of his duties, Gordon provides scientific advice on non-native species and their risk analysis to the UK Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. He is also a member of the UK-TAG Alien Species Group as well as a UK delegate on the ICES Working Group on the Introduction and Transfer of Marine Organisms (WGITMO).
Emmanuelle Sarat 
IUCN French committee, 17 place du Trocadero, 75016 Paris, France.
She is a scientific officer for invasive alien species at the IUCN French committee, has managed the Biological invasions in aquatic environments (IBMA) work group since 2014.
Emmanuelle is a scientific officer for invasive alien species at the IUCN French committee. She is in charge of the French Biological invasions in aquatic environments (IBMA) work group since 2014. The group serves as an interface for communication and discussion on how to manage IASs in aquatic environments. Its main objective is to assist managers and support decision makers by providing knowledge gained on how to manage invasive alien species. Many operational tools have been developed and are available on a dedicated internet platform (www.gt-ibma.eu), such as species factsheets, management insights and an information database.
The work group has recently drafted a best practice guide on IAS, intitled “Invasive alien species in aquatic environments. Practical information and management insights”. Two volumes clearly present the situation and propose a scientifically based approach to assist freshwater managers in setting up management projects. Though no “cure alls” currently exist, the guide offers highly useful information while attempting to address the specific aspects of each situation, including the site, the species to be managed and the necessary technical and financial resources.
Prof. dr Predrag Simonović 
University of Belgrade, Faculty of Biology, Studentski trg 16, PO Box 550, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Professor Predrag Simonović is a lecturer in Vertebrate Zoology, Systematics and a reader in Ichthyology (Introduction to Ichthyology and Introduction to Fisheries Sciences) at the University of Belgrade – Faculty of Biology.Research group he leads works through the Center for Genotyping of Fisheries Resources on phylogeography, systematics and fishery management of salmonids in the Western Balkans region, as well as on impact of alien fish species and water quality assessments. Center was founded in Spring 2012 and hosted researchers from the Western Balkans region interested for collaboration. Analyses of brown trout populations aim to help in their sustainable management and conservation of their indigenous stocks in the region.
Dr Elena Tricarico 
Dipartimento di Biologia Evoluzionistica, Universit `a degli Studi di Firenze, via Romana 17, 50125 Firenze, Italy
Elena has received a strong training in ecological and ethological methods at the University of Florence (Italy), where she studied and gained her Masters and PhD on Ethology and Animal Ecology, working mostly on aquatic invertebrates. Since her Masters, she has dealt with the biological invasions problem, particularly in freshwater ecosystems, through different perspectives, from behavioural ecology to management aspects. Elena has participated to 15 national and 10 European projects (as DAISIE, IMPASSE, 3 LIFE projects, a Marie Curie ITN), mainly on alien species. After her PhD, she started to work on the predictive aspects of this problem (e.g. risk assessment), also in relation to the climate change. Her main fields of research range from biological invasions to social behaviour in invertebrates, leading her to travel around Europe, USA and Africa, and to establish many fruitful collaborations. Elena is involved in the COST Action TD1209 (Alien Challenge), and was co-responsible for the revision of the freshwater species of the EASIN catalogue for the JRC, and, since 2014, has been on the editorial board of the EASIN. She has produced 63 papers in peer-review journals, mostly on alien species, 8 book chapters, 1 book, 31 technical reports for national and European projects. Currently, at the University of Florence she is a research fellow, working on alien crayfish management for the project LIFE+ NAT SOS TUSCAN WETLANDS, and for the Marie Curie ITN Aquainvad-ED (focussed on aquatic aliens), and lecturer for the courses Invasion Biology, Management and Conservation of the wildlife, and Zoology. She is also collaborating with NERC-CEH (responsible: Prof. Helen Roy) for updating and reclassifying the pathways of freshwater aliens in EASIN following the Convention for Biological Diversity standard.
Mag. dr Martin Weinländer
REVITAL Integrative Naturraumplanung GmbH, Nußdorf 71, 9990 Nußdorf-Debant, Austria
Martin Weinländer studied at Innsbruck University and received the Master degree in Zoology and Terrestrial Ecology in 2007 on “Effect of Austropotamobius torrentium on zoobenthos structure and function in small forest streams” and the Ph.D. degree in Limnology and Invasion Biology in 2012 on “The alien crayfish Pacifastacus leniusculus in Carinthia (Austria): invasiveness, threats and ecological effects“.
He has worked from 2007-2012 within the River and Conservation Research Group (Head: A.o. Univ. Prof. Mag. Dr. Leopold Füreder) at the Institute of Ecology (University of Innsbruck). His research includes benthic animal communities with a special focus on the ecology, management and conservation of freshwater crayfish as well as landscape analyses (habitat suitability and fragmentation) within riverine landscapes.
From 2012-2013 he worked at the Tyrolean Regional Government in the Department of Environmental Protection.
Since 2013 he is an employee at REVITAL Integrative Naturraumplanung GmbH with the focus on freshwater ecology, herpetology, neobiota and conservation.
Prof. Helen Roy
Principal scientist at the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, visiting Professor at the University of Reading
Helen is a community ecologist with a particular focus on the effects of alien species on insect communities. As the Head of Zoology within the Biological Records Centre (part of the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology), Helen has the privilege of working with volunteers with expertise in recording wildlife to compile long-term and large-scale datasets on terrestrial and freshwater species. Helen’s work focuses on the collaborative use of these large-scale and long-term datasets to understand and predict the effects of environmental change on biodiversity. The current focus of her research is predicting the biological impact of invasive alien species. Helen has led a number of European-wide initiatives on alien species including projects on horizon scanning and risk assessment to underpin the EU Regulation on invasive alien species. Helen is proud to be the chair of the COST Action ALIEN Challenge and has thoroughly enjoyed leading the network of people from more than 35 countries. She has a passion for natural history and science communication. Helen also has extensive expertise in citizen science and coordinates the UK Ladybird Survey as a volunteer but has also developed a number of other citizen science initiatives including the Big Bumblebee Discovery. She recently published a guide to citizen science which has been widely adopted. Helen has recently been awarded the Zoological Society of London prestigious Silver Medal in recognition of her contribution to understanding and appreciation of zoology
Dr Quentin Groom
Botanic Garden Meise, Domein van Bouchout, B-1860 Meise, Belgium
Quentin Groom is a botanist and informatician at the Botanic Garden Meise in Belgium. Quentin has a degree in Botany and a PhD in plant physiology, he has worked in botanical research in the UK, USA and Belgium. His research career has involved many aspects of plant biology including molecular biology, biophysics and biochemistry. However, for the past fifteen years he has worked at the interface of botany and information technology. At the botanic garden he is responsible for the virtual herbarium and the digitization of literature, but he also conducts research on invasive species, biogeography, and ecology. Currently he is promoting the use of data management planning to ensure the openness, longevity and interoperability of biodiversity data. In 2016 he will be working on a task group for the Global Biodiversity Information Facility on invasive species data. He would like to improve the interoperability of data to automate many of the monitoring and modelling activities that are currently limiting the output of biodiversity research.
Dr Bozena Mitic, Univ Prof 
University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology (Botany), Marulicev trg 9a, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Božena Mitić is a botanist, working at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science, since 2013 as a full professor. At the beginning of her research career Božena has had a PhD degree in plant taxonomy and systematic, was sometimes involved in some nomenclature investigations, but she has also participated in researches of Croatian terrestrial and freshwater flora. In the past 10 years her research activities were extended on invasive alien plants and palynology. She is strongly involved in aerobiological researches in Croatia, especially those connected with monitoring of Ambrosia pollen in the air. Together with colleagues from her group she launched and developed national standards and the preliminary list of invasive alien plants for Croatia. As a collaborator of the database Flora Croatica Database she permanently works on the mapping and distribution of invasive alien plants in Croatia, and at the moment on the revision and updating of the list of non-native plants in Croatia. Devoted to dealing with invasive alien plants, Božena is also very active in raising public awareness about the problem of invasive species, and often collaborates with colleagues in the national institutions responsible for nature protection and legislation on invasive alien species. At the Department of Biology, Faculty of Science Božena is the course leader and lecturer for students at the undergraduate, graduate and PhD level for different botanical courses (Plant Morphology, Palynology, Invasive Plants etc.). Under her mentorship more than 60 graduate theses, master’s theses and dissertations were defended, some topics were related with the invasive alien plants in Croatia. Božena has so far published over 80 scientific papers and books (including one manual on Invasive alien plants in Croatia), some of them related to the problem of invasive plants in Croatia. She was the leader of tithe projects and a collaborator in a number of research projects, among others she is the substitute member for Croatia for the COST Actions ALIEN CHALLENGE and SMARTER.
Dr Lorenzo Vilizzi
Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, Faculty of Fisheries, Kötekli, Muğla 48000, Turkey
Lorenzo is an aquatic scientist with extensive research experience with freshwater fishes and a solid background in statistical ecology. He is one of the world’s leading experts in the biology of invasive common carp Cyprinus carpio, and as a complement to his fish biology background he is exceptionally strong in statistics and programming. In this respect, he has provided significant contributions to the mechanics of risk screening tools for aquatic invasive species, which have been applied successfully across all five continents. Over the past 25+ years Lorenzo has been working both as an academic researcher (UK, Australia and, currently, Turkey) and as an independent counsultant to several academic and research institutions worldwide.
Dr Dušan Jelić
Croatian Institute for Biodiversity, Lipovac I., no. 7, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia
Dušan Jelić (mag. edu. biol. in Reptile Biology-Ecology) (1982) is the President of Croatian Institute for Biodiversity and former director of Croatian Herpetological Society HYLA. His work includes different aspects of Fish, Amphibian and Reptile research, like distribution, ecology, morphology, taxonomy, phylogeny, phylogeography, conservation, etc. He started his PhD in Reptile ecology (focusing on biogeography and species ecological niche overlap) in 2009 and has successfully defended his thesis in October 2013. He worked for 5 years in State Institute for Nature Protection as expert for Amphibians and Reptiles and during this time he edited the second “Red book of Amphibians and Reptiles of Croatia” and worked as expert in designation of Natura2000 ecological network in Croatia (important sites for Amphibians and Reptiles). In 2009 and 2010 he also led the Amphibian and Reptile inventory project of the border river Una. During his career he was a project leader in over 10 biodiversity projects and some of the longest herpetofauna monitoring projects in Croatia: 6 year (2007-2012) long project for inventory and monitoring of Vipera ursinii macrops, 4 year (2009-2012) long project for distribution mapping and monitoring of Ablepharus kitaibelii. In 2012-2013 he was engaged as key expert for herpetofauna on MANMON project for NATURA2000 management and monitoring in Croatia. His work on conservation of herpetofauna was recognized internationally when he was asked to film wildlife documentary “In too Deep” with Animal Planet and later “Attenborough Ark” with BBC. He is editor in charge of journal HYLA – herpetological bulletin, editor and reviewer in several scientific journals, author of 7 books and 41 scientific papers (17 in CC or SCI) dealing with amphibians, reptiles and fish.
Prof. Jasna Lajtner
Department of Zoology, Division of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Rooseveltov trg 6, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Jasna Lajtner is Assistant Professor at the Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb. She is a lecturer for students at the undergraduate, graduate and PhD level and teach a few different courses, among them Malacology, General Zoology and Invasive Species. More than 50 graduate theses were done under her mentorship, as well as one master thesis and one doctoral thesis. At the beginning of her research career Jasna has accomplished Master degree in Ecotoxicology (acute and sub-chronic toxicity tests with freshwater molluscs, histopathological changes as a result of toxicity). For the past 15 years her main research interest was ecology, distribution, taxonomy and phylogeny of freshwater snails and bivalves. The current focus of her research is distribution and impacts of invasive mollusc species in Croatia. Regarding the problem of invasive species she often collaborates with colleagues in the national institutions responsible for nature protection and legislation on invasive alien species.